“This is probably the best course I have ever been on, and I feel like I have grown in confidence and been able to share worries and doubts with others, which has helped me to believe growth will happen, and my vision will start to emerge.”

“Just a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart, not just for the great time and content, but in the way you all gave of yourselves, with your wonderful families. We felt invited to join something uniquely special for these few days. Thank you for your openness, honesty, sense of humour and hospitality. Thank you for being real. May God pour out his unrestricted blessing on you all and may you know his peace and joy as you serve him”

“The best course I’ve been on in my ordained life. It is not like many taught courses - we never felt as if we didn’t have something to add to discussions ourselves - we were always experts in the room too. The team leading never patronised, boasted or lectured - we weren’t offered anything too prescriptive and nobody pretended there were always easy answers - instead they showed extraordinary kindness and it was transformative. It is less teaching and more mentoring and accompanying - they helped me find what was already within me but had sadly been crushed and damaged by the bruises of parish ministry. They offered plentiful times of prayer - sometimes planned and sometimes spontaneous. For those of us who live alone this level of understanding and support was like finding an oasis in the desert. I return fully refreshed - and hopeful for the future. Could not recommend Kindling more highly and I’m deeply grateful for this opportunity.”

“Thank you for making me feel welcomed and valued. I appreciated that you didn't try to tell me what I should be doing to grow the church further, nor did you tell me that I must change things in order for people to flourish in their faith. You simply listened, understood and encouraged each of us in the group through your kindness, empathy and humour. Thank you for giving me the space to unwind, and recharge.”

“I think what might be underestimated is the networking opportunity: both with my colleagues on the Kindling experience and with the many people who are part of the church and clearly support it. Outside of the Kindling leadership there are many others willing to chat and give their own input. Amongst those of us who are now a part of Kindling, there is now a network we share to offer prayerful support and practical guidance”

“Ministers in complex, struggling, under-resourced parishes invariably begin to feel overwhelmed by expectations and inherited status quo. Consequently, they may have a sense of what a healthy parish might look like or do, they may even have a sense of what is needed in their own parish longer term, yet the horizon of possibility shrinks through attrition over time. This is negatively compounded by narratives abut growth and finances. Furthermore, church growth strategies often imply a somewhat healthy parish that merely requires enthusiasm and direction. Consequently, ministers can find themselves in a situation where they are highly-invested, practically, temporally and emotionally, and yet isolated and under-supported. This adds an emotional and existential burden to a minister's life that in other contexts is not constructively addressed and can lead to burn-out and feeling trapped. KN's strength is that it manages to be person-focused in the sense that it provides space for ministers to prayerfully reflect on their situation, whilst being parish-mission-focused in the substance of its modules. This is made possible partly due to the number of participants, partly through the predisposition of the KN staff, and partly the choice of modules.

Reflecting on my own experience, what I perceived in the room through our time together is that KN has managed to produce an environment as much as a programme, wherein a minister's confidence in their own calling and capacity begins to be restored. From a module perspective, the framing of "blockers" is particularly helpful in this regard. Struggling churches are nobbled by blockers. The KN "blocker" module helpfully contextualises this problem and provides a practical and theologically coherent approach to it; one that is not easy but biblical and necessary. As the course continues with further cohorts, I suspect that the KN will not only contribute to the revitalising of parishes but through their general approach may very well prevent people leaving the ministry.”